Ruby City Inbox

[niceskirts]

"Hello. You've reached Keiko Yukimura. I'm not available right now, so please leave your name and a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!"

Comments

[roseblooms]

It's not often the duty of a law enforcement officer to hear out and even empathize with the criminal he's pursuing.

I do need to be very clear about that — not for the sake of soliciting pity, but because I want to be honest with you. It may not seem that way on the surface, but Yusuke wasn't sent against me mistakenly or in error. I was a criminal; to some degree, I still am, as I've not yet worked off my pardon.

The reason why it's so significant to me to make that clear...is because it means that the ONLY reason Yusuke could have shown me the mercy he did is because of his personal character. There was no outside incentive. And other people in his position certainly wouldn't have, but he did.

[niceskirts]

Okay. I think I understand why you're saying that, then.

[Keiko has to type for a long time before she sends her message.]

But that's just how he is. Maybe other people wouldn't have, but Yusuke doesn't care about "other people." He always goes his own way no matter what; and it gets him in a lot of trouble, but that's what so admirable about him, too. That he never stops fighting to make sure SOMEONE does the right thing for the little guy.

Can I ask you something else, to clarify what I'm trying to say? It might be a little personal.

[roseblooms]

You're right. He really is that way, isn't he?

You're welcome to ask me anything you like, Keiko. Personal or not.

[niceskirts]

Are you a demon?

[roseblooms]

...Oh. Yes, I am. Half of one, at least, at present.

It's a little complicated to explain, but — the demon you met, who called himself Youko, is who I was when I was a full demon. You could say that in a sense, I'm a "reincarnation" of that demon...except that he never actually died, but rather fused his soul with that of the human Shuichi Minamino to form...me.

[niceskirts]

[Is that normal? Keiko has no idea whether or not that's normal. Okay, Kurama, you do you.]

Oh, I see. If you're part human, too, then maybe this won't be so hard for you to understand.

I realize it might be kind of weird to call a demon criminal "the little guy," but I don't mean it like I think you're weak or that you had to be in a position of weakness to deserve his time of day. But...well, let's say Yusuke's work really is something like a student internship. If what he was doing felt like teachers or bosses yelling orders down at him, he'd already want to tell them to shove it. He hasn't had too many good experiences with people trying to tell him what to do.

So then, if his bosses are already the bad guys, what would that make you? Dangerous criminal or not, I think...Yusuke probably saw the two of you on the same side against them. Two people getting put down by "the man," if you know what I mean - just placed in opposing roles by happenstance.

A lot of our teachers treat Yusuke like a criminal, you know, because he mouths off and cuts class and gets in fights all the time. And the other students think he's scary, even though they've never even talked to him. They look down on him and tell stories behind his back. And...even I assume the worst sometimes, though I of all people should know better.

That's why...I think he really wanted to give you the chance to talk. Because he knows what it's like when people don't listen.

[roseblooms]

...

His bosses are not the saints they make themselves out to be, I can certainly tell you that much. I'm hardly one to talk about sainthood myself, of course, but...

Well. Regardless of all that, I recall telling Yusuke recently that it didn't surprise me to hear that I'd ended up fighting in the Dark Tournament on his team, because I'd follow him into hell without hesitation. But the truth of the matter is, I'd just as soon run through hell alone, barefoot and blindfolded, if it meant that he wouldn't have to. Because I believe that I've seen who he is beyond all those easy assumptions, and the person he is beneath them...is worth that depth of devotion.

It infuriates me to hear that so many people in his life have treated him in the way you're describing. But I'm not the only one, am I? It bothers you, too — more than you let on.

[niceskirts]

Heh. I should probably let on more, then.

People were still saying horrible things about him at his WAKE, Kurama. While his mother was in there, crying.

[roseblooms]

...I don't suppose you have names.

And possibly last known locations.

[niceskirts]

Um. You're joking, right? Ha ha.

[roseblooms]

Yes, of course.

[NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST]

That's terrible to hear, though. What did his mother say about it? Did she overhear them?

[niceskirts]

No, they were outside by then. So at least Atsuko was spared that.

Principal Takenaka really laid into the teachers who were acting like that, though. I mean, verbally.

[roseblooms]

...His teachers.

His TEACHERS were the ones saying those things.

At a fourteen-year-old boy's wake.

I would've imagined that lack of decency and compassion from fellow students, perhaps, but not from grown adults.

[niceskirts]

Some of the students were, too, but...yeah.

That's why I said Yusuke would have rebelled if his bosses were treating him the way his teachers do. Most of the faculty don't deal fairly with him at all. Mr. Takenaka's one of the exceptions, and I'd guess he's one of the reasons Yusuke even shows up to class every now and then.

Actually, I guess that applies to Kuwabara and his friends, too. There are a couple teachers who have it out for all of them, to protect the school's "image" or whatever.

[roseblooms]

...The human capacity for meaningless cruelty never fails to astound me.

I doubt his superior with Spirit World is quite so...overt as those teachers. I've met him a few times before — he oversaw my parole hearing, for example. And yet...all too often, Spirit World looks the other way when heinous things happen to demons, because by virtue of existing, demons simply "deserve it".

Given what you've said, I suppose Yusuke must sympathize with that.

[niceskirts]

...Granted, most of my experience with demons so far hasn't been very nice. Present company excluded. =) But that kind of attitude still seems wrong to me.

What are demons normally like, when they're not at tournaments?

[roseblooms]

...You, ah. Do you recall anything of your first time meeting Hiei? Was it at the Dark Tournament, or somewhere else?

To be perfectly honest, Keiko, many demons do deserve the suspicion and fear people accord them — not because they're demons, but because our priorities tend to be highly self-centered, arising out of a culture where strength determines status. But in that way, demons are often simplistic, even predictable; humanity is far more varied and complex in its nuances.

[niceskirts]

Huh? No, I don't think I met Hiei before the tournament. And even then, it's not like he and I ever had any reason to talk...I got the impression he's not very friendly.

Why do you ask?

As for demons - I guess I understand that. But even at the tournament, there seemed to be so many different kinds of demons...Yusuke made friends with a lot of the guys he fought, actually.

Oh, shoot, I wasn't supposed to tell you more about the tournament! Sorry!

[roseblooms]

Ah. I'm sorry, I must have been mistaken.

[W H O O P S right then moving right along]

In any case, it's hardly a surprise to hear that, "spoilers" or not. It's difficult not to like Yusuke, frankly, when he bares his soul — and he always seems to do that when he fights.

Moreover, fighting is something that makes sense to him. It's not about enjoyment, exactly, so much as just...it's familiar. It's a way of understanding another person. So if he did end up crossing paths with another fighter like him in that arena, I can see where they might form a connection in that way.

[niceskirts]

[It takes her a while to even begin to respond.]




Yeah. It's...not something I can understand myself, how fighting is a way of understanding someone else. But after watching him like that...I can understand how it might work for him.

Did you fight Yusuke? ...Is that how the rest of the story goes?

[roseblooms]

Actually, no. I've never fought Yusuke in battle. No, I...well. Let me go through it step by step, and that'll make it more straightforward.

The crime I committed was a theft. The object I stole was very powerful and very dangerous, because it possesses the ability to grant its user's heart's desire — a single wish. I stole it in an attempt to save my human mother's life.

I didn't ask Yusuke for leniency or mercy. All I asked was for enough time to use that object for its intended purpose, and then I would surrender myself. What he didn't realize is that there is a price attached to the use of that object. In exchange for their wish, the user sacrifices his life.

That was my plan. Preserving my human mother's life at the expense of my own. It was my own choice; I was perfectly willing to go through with it.

Yusuke refused to let me, once he realized what using that object would mean. He told me, "it doesn't make sense for you to save your mother just so she can spend the rest of her life mourning the death of her son. I've seen that once before...and I don't want to see it again."

That's why. How could he not win my loyalty after something like that?

[niceskirts]

[That's Yusuke, that's Yusuke all over, and Keiko was just talking about Atsuko and she didn't even think--oh, Yusuke. How much of all that did he see? She never asked him about his time while he was... while he wasn't around. Hadn't it been some kind of coma? A miracle not to look in the mouth?

If he'd seen that, of course he wouldn't let Kurama... But. Oh.]

Did...you find another way to help your mom?

[roseblooms]

It wasn't precisely "another" way, no. Just a miracle.

The object...respected Yusuke's intentions, I suppose you could say. It granted my wish without claiming the price for it.

So yes, she's all right now, which I think is the question you were really asking, isn't it?

[niceskirts]

[Phew.]

Yeah. I guess I was pretty obvious, huh? :)

I'm glad your mom is okay. And that you and Yusuke are, too.

I'm really happy he has friends like you, now.

[roseblooms]

I've made a lot of mistakes in recent history, my handling of the business with the Forlorn Hope among them. So believe me when I say I'm immensely grateful to have the opportunity to work to try to be better than I've been. And to have Yusuke as a friend while I do.

...

And you as well, I hope. Yusuke isn't the only one here willing to fight on your behalf, I hope you realize.